Who says Dairy goats are just for milking?

I hate driving. Lets be truly honest about this, I just hate driving some place and especially for only one reason. So when given the opportunity I always try to batch trips together. So when we made plans to take Azalea (Jan 2010 Saanen kid) over to the breeder in the mountains we thought we would leave her for a few hours and go hiking while she hung out with the buck and we bred her again in a few hours. Well... things have a funny way of working out. The buck we wanted to use refused to service her so we changed our plans (after a certain twinge of disappointment) and used a younger buck instead. Now at this point it just seemed silly to leave her there as she was coming out of heat and rebreeding her in a few hours wasn't going to accomplish much. Since we didn't really want to give up the hike we just took her with us!

She spent a lot of the time back behind us whining about the walk. Especially on the up-hill portion. Really Azalea! You have 2 extra legs to keep up with!

"There is NO WAY you are making me cross this creek!!!" of course once she realized she could drink the water and stop panting, there was a little less complaining. Even though she still wouldn't cross the creek.

Sorry, the picture was a little blurry, but I love the fact that I caught her nibbling as we walked along. I wish I could take the goats out more. They are so fun to have along on the hike. I think it helps them bond to us, since we are the portion of their herd present. Maybe we will take this trail again but with one or two more of them in tow.

Breeding season frenzy

So this week, assuming that the week starts Sunday and finishes Saturday, we bred 12 does. Yes you read that right. 12. . .

On first thought you are thinking "OMG what is wrong with these people" but let's take it from a rational point of view (and of course with a list - I really like lists in case you couldn't tell from earlier posts).
1. We still have at least 7 does to breed who need to be bred later anyway
2. If you kid a lot of does at once then if you need to foster kids (triplets and singles) it is much easier plus you use up a whole weekend and then are not sitting around every weekend wondering when they will kid.
3. At least 1 of those does was a first attempted at AI which means OF COURSE she won't take (contrary to both does last year who took on the first try) and chances are a few other one will come back into heat.
4. Sr kids do better then jr kids (proven by all 3 kids who got their jr leg this year were sr kids)
5. We only have the togg buck for a limited time and we would hate to wait on any of the togg does and then have them re-cycle once he is gone.
6. And most importantly we are a little bit crazy.

So... who's up for a party at my house in 5 months?

Weeding

So picture this scenario - your landlord tells you you have too many weeds. You of course don't own a mower so what to you do? Obviously you get your goats to work for you! The whole pasture emptied! (see the small side yard on the left side of the house? That's where they all hiding) We even let the little girls out! Boy were they excited.

Everyone really munched and devoured the weeds. I will post an after picture at some point but it was completely barren by the time they finished. Talking about using your resources!

Kaylinn comes to the goat show!

Kaylinn showing Arizona! How cool is that!

Breeding Season is almost here (already!!)

I’m having a hard time believing it is already breeding season. With the addition of Acorn, 7 or so weeks ago, I feel like we can’t possibly be getting close to the time for breeding, we are still milking and feeding kids! And we still have a few more shows! Ah, well, seasons begin to change whether I like it or not. The girls and boys are all coming into season and the air near the buck pens are beginning to smell strongly…

The breeding list for 2011 kids has been updated with the current plan. Of course this is just a plan and could change as we get closer to actually breeding them.

We will be leasing a Togg buck this year and all the toggs (including our two newest acquisitions) will be bred for Togg kids. The Lamanchas will be split between Arabica and Brazil, with Brazil for the older does and Arabica for the younger does. Most of the Saanens we will take else ware to breed although we are going to try breeding Zinfandel AI for a few rounds. We are also really excited to use Brazil for several sets of grade kids. Besides Ysis – who would have grade kids regardless – we will be breeding Thistle for Saanchas (Saanen-Lamancha) which should look like adorable mini Ysises. Additionally, we are leasing 4 Alpines from Tori Kennedy and breeding them all Lamancha. Hopefully there will be some nice grade kids who come from this cross.

Even though it does not possible seem like it could be late enough for breeding animals, it is exciting to plan for all the kids next year, and we should have a lot! With the total as it is now, possible up to 19 does kidding!!

Little girls growing up

I promise I will write about state fair at some point, but I had to post this picture this morning. I am working on a 365 project (where you take a picture every day for a year) and not surprisingly the goats show up in a lot of my pictures. Well this was too precious not to share. Katie on the left with Alaska in the middle and Arizona on the right. Wow they grow up fast don't they? Already the "little girls" are almost as tall as their mother. We keep asking in jest "so you think they will be big enough to breed this fall?" but seriously it always amazes me that slightly more than 6 months ago this girls were the size of Acorn (yes the Nubian-Nigerian has a name of sorts) and were cuddling on our laps. Now they are inching towards 100lbs and are almost one of the "big girls". In 6 months or so everything will start over and we will have a whole new crop of little girls in the pasture.

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Just in case you are wondering, the kids are enjoying a brief vacation from the weaning pen. You can see on the other side of the feeder Ysis and Artemis eating side by side. It is sweet to see the kids cuddled up against their mothers. I didn't get a picture of it, but right behind me at the other feeder Thistle and Azalea were standing together eating and Fritter has not left her mother's sight since she has been allowed back in. I know that they will all act this way again once we finish weaning and drying off, at least until new babies arrive keeping this years mothers and next years new mothers busy.

New Champion and New Kid

What a Weekend!!! This last weekend was the Central Coast California show, better known as the Watsonville show. It is almost certainly my favorite show of the year. It was one of the first that I ever attended and remains one of the most laid-back relaxed shows. Additionally we always get to help out in the show ring. This is better than being ringside and watching because you can chat with people and make sure the show moves smoothly. The judges love it when you help and you have a reason to be in the ring.

So the highlight of the weekend really came when Ysis, my Lamancha-Saanen grade won grand champion in the recorded grade division. Not only that, but it was under Karen Senn and Chris Strickland, two judges who I greatly respect. This means she has acquired the highly sought after title of Champion!!! She will have CH before her name from now on. Ever since I started in Dairy goats so many years ago I never knew if I would ever make it to that level. To actually have a doe who has the title of Champion seemed so unobtainable. Even several days later it seems amazing to me and words barely do justice to my excitement. Her daughter also won her dry leg this weekend, which means she is also one step closer to being a finished champion. To make the weekend complete we even brought home a new kid. A small Nubian cross was born to one of the breeders this weekend. She is out of a doe who was supposed to be a dry yearling. The breeder did not even know she was bred until she when into labor that morning. The mother did not want her and did not have any milk to feed her with so a short negotiation later and she was coming home with us. There goes my “summer does not have any breeding or kidding in it” theory. She really is adorable. Currently she sleeps in the bath tube and gets taken outside to eat and pee. Of course she smells delightfully like a kid as well. Such a sweetheart! Already she has many home offers, we’ll just see where she ends up!

She really is quite a lovely little thing

Sleeping in the bath tube means she peers out at you if you make noise